Kent State University
32-26
Ohio
39-16
Kent State Wins Third Game of Day to Capture MAC Softball Tournament Championship
5/13/2017 7:36:00 PM | Softball
Box Score (pdf)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
AKRON, Ohio – Senior Ronnie Ladines tossed a three-hitter and hit a two-run homer in the first inning to lead No. 4 Kent State past No. 2 Ohio, 3-0, in the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship game. The performance by Ladines capped a sensational week in which she earned MAC Tournament Most Valuable Player honors.
Kent State (32-26) accomplished the improbable, winning three games on Saturday, to capture its third MAC Tournament crown and first since 2008. The Golden Flashes started the day by beating No. 3 Northern Illinois, 9-3, in a game that started at 10:30 a.m. before taking down the Bobcats in back-to-back games.
"I'm so incredibly proud of this team for putting last night behind them and getting the job done today," said head coach Eric Oakley. "It started with people believing, and there weren't many outside of our dugout that believed we could win three games today. Ronnie, Maddy [Grimm], Holly [Speers] and [Emily] Dobbin were great for us all week, but it was great to have players like Madi Huck, Vanessa Scoarste and Hunter Brancifort really stepped up today. Madi made me look like a genius for throwing her, and we don't win this without her incredible performance."
Sophomore Hunter Brancifort cleared the fence in left field to give the Flashes the lead in the bottom of the first. After a two-out walk drawn by junior Holly Speers, Ladines launched her fourth home run of the tournament to make it a 3-0 game.
That was all the offensive support needed for Ladines (19-14), who retired seven batters she after allowing a leadoff double to start the game.
Junior Emily Dobbin made the defensive play of the tournament, skying at the wall in left field to take away a home run from Ohio's Morgan Geno to start the fourth inning.
Ladines total six strikeouts and walked just one batter to earn her fourth victory of the tournament. The Arlington, Washington native also led the Flashes at the plate with a .529 batting average (9-for-17), two doubles, four home runs, seven RBIs and four walks.
Senior Maddy Grimm and juniors Emily Dobbin and Holly Speers joined Ladines on the MAC All-Tournament Team.
The Division I Softball Committee will unveil its selections for the 2017 NCAA Division I Softball Championship on Sunday, May 14 at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
2017 All-MAC Tournament Team
Ronnie Ladines, Kent State (MVP)
Emily Dobbin, Kent State
Maddy Grimm, Kent State
Holly Speers, Kent State
Savannah Fruin, Akron
Tara Thacker, NIU
Dominique Greeno, NIU
Kayti Grable, NIU
Savannah Jo Dorsey, Ohio
Ivy Schaaf, Western Michigan
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ladines, Ronnie (19-14)
L: DORSEY, S. (23-8)
Batting:
2B: COOPER, M. 1
Batting:
2B: Grimm, Maddy 1
HR: Brancifort, Hunter 1 ; Ladines, Ronnie 1
RBI: Brancifort, Hunter 1 ; Ladines, Ronnie 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Brancifort, Hunter 1 ; Speers, Holly 1 ; Ladines, Ronnie 1
HBP: Grimm, Maddy 1
